Publisher's Summary

When the mother that abandoned them years ago suddenly shows up and moves them to New Hampshire, Madison has no choice but to go or lose her family. Shoving her dreams aside yet again, she tries to make a life for her siblings only to discover that nothing is going the way that it should. It's really cold. Her fifteen year old sister acts like a hooker in training. Men act funny around her. Her boss is a real jerk. She feels like an outsider. Her best friend turns out to be a mouthy sixteen year old kid and the incredibly handsome guy renting the room adjoining hers not only hogs the bathroom, taking three showers a day and leaving her with cold water, but he also has a secret. A secret that she becomes a bit obsessed with and can't let go no matter how many times she's warned off.

Detective Ephraim Williams learned long ago not to show any emotion or allow himself to get attached to humans. What was the point? They came and went and he remained. This time wouldn't be any different or so he thought. When his landlady told him that her grandchildren were moving in he didn't expect much, well other than to be left alone. What he didn't expect was to have to fight bloodlust every time he so much as caught the scent of his delectable neighbor's blood or her bombarding him with questions every time she cornered him. If that's not bad enough, a Master from his past has found him once again and is demanding his blood and is willing to do anything to get it, even using the beautiful, irritating, neighbor that makes him feel more than pain for the first time in centuries to get it.

This was a fabulous read/listen because it was funny, sexy and offered a world of varied blood-suckers & other superhuman qualities (Pyte/Sentinels/vamps etc.), that was refreshing and different. I really liked how R.L. Matthewson's adhered to some aspects of the classic vampire canons, while adding elements to these supernatural creatures that was unique to this story.

24 year old Madison, as a heroine, was maternal, loving, self-sacrificing, and completely loyal to the well-being of her siblings (Jill and Joshua). Her mother Candy was a low-life, selfish woman who only stuck around when it was in her interest. When Madison moved her family to New Hampshire to live in her grandmother's boarding house, well, that's when her life totally took a turn and became something remarkable after meeting the hero of this story.

The hero, Ephraim Williams, who is a Pyte (you have to read this book to learn what that is :-), is about 200+ years old [Yeah, big age difference---but age certainly didn't matter in his love affair] Although Ephraim lives in the same boarding home, he's a recluse until he catches scent of Madison's blood, and cannot stay away from her. As this story progresses so does the sexual tension between the leads and Ephraim's bloodlust for her.

There were a lot of hurdles and challenges both leads had to overcome and solve in order to stay together, but that part of the story was equally funny as it was dangerous. When Ephraim and Madison finally give in to their magnetic romance, I have to say that their Pyte/human sex was phenomenal....it was pretty supernatural, steamy & well crazy hot! LOL. Both leads shared a great love affair. OMG, Ephraim was totally whooped with Madison. The only thing that bothered me was how stubborn she was when she got pissed. OMG, the girl could hold a grudge, but Ephraim's relentless persistence paid off in both keeping her safe and winning back her affection each time she got upset with him.

I enjoyed what became of Madison, Ephraim, and her family.--They became a beautiful family unit which they all desperately needed. One of the best surprises was Chris who was Madison's student and how he got integrated into this unconventional family. I thought the best aspect was how, not only did the leads find this healing kind of love with one another, but that love also extended itself to the rest of the family. WOW!!! What a great story!

CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE NEXT BOOK WHICH IS CHRIS'S STORY! WOOT-WOOT!

Narrator: I've heard Stella Bloom before and I think she does a good job with her narrations. She adds sass and injects the right amount of inflection in the humorous parts.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Camille

United States

26/02/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fun New Concept for a Vampire book"

I really liked these books! I had gotten a little tired of vampire books but this series has a twist that I found refreshed my interest. The main character is a Pyte, half vamp born to a woman turned vamp during pregnancy. He can walk in the sun among other things a vamp can't do so of course vampires want his blood thinking it will give them the same powers as the Pyte (day walker) but drinking it gives them a big surprise. Sentinels are another interesting set of characters in the series, they're half angel born to earth to off set the vamps, werewolf's and demons. There're lots of twists it these books and I enjoyed them very much. The sexual content is hot (not for the young) but not so long winded it took over the plot. The narration could have been better and is sometimes hard to follow due to sliding from one scene into another without pause but still worth the listen. I'm Waiting for audible to make #3 book whispersync, and there is a 4th book out soon! Happy Listening

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Lia

Sutton, Australia

15/12/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"3.5 Stars - Great Potential But!"

The prologue and beginning of this story was enough that after sampling, I wanted more. This is from the author who brought us PLAYING FOR KEEPS which many will agree was straight up fun to read and put a smile on your face. TALL, DARK, and LONELY has that element of humour to it as well and this was so very fresh for me because it was that humour mixed with a paranormal read. I feel in love with the characters of Madison and Ephraim and wanted desperately to know where their story would go.

Now, as my rating suggests, I had some issues with this book too. I loved the humour, I loved the characters but I felt like there were issues with the explanation of things or in most cases lack thereof. There were also points of continuity issues.

The story is told from each characters point of view, but it switches from paragraph to paragraph. I had to re-listen many times trying to figure out who was being talked about. Jumping time then telling the story in past tense had me wanting to quit the book. Plot of the story switched many times also.

Then there were just little things that left more questions and were not brought up in a way that made sense. The strength of his blood and how he can turn people for one. Then there were comments on whether he wanted something or not, when earlier he was described as not wanting it, then it became he did. No while yes, people are allowed to change their mind but this was not like that, it was brought about as if this was what he always felt.

I know I am being a bit vague, because I still don't feel right spoiling the story. I didn't abandon this book, I listened to it completely because I still enjoyed the story line. I don't think I will continue on however, because I fear the same issue will arise in the next books in the series which is a shame. This book could have been utterly amazing with a bit more attention to detail.

Great humour for a paranormal book and I did enjoy my time with it.

Stella Bloom was good with the delivery of the story.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Lilian

Seattle WA United States

16/02/15

Overall

"Definately winner"

This is such a great book for any paranormal romantic. Ephraim is a pyte... An immortal who needs blood to survive just like a vampire but without the downside of being highly sensitive to daylight or holy water or getting staked. He is also a loner. Madison is a beautiful woman who has worked hard to raise her brother and sister for years because their mother is just, well, the world's worst mother!

When Madison & her siblings are forced to relocate because their mother is back and determined to leech off their grandmother, neither Madison nor Ephraim are aware that their world's are going to collide in a drama filled, hilarious & sent way.

This book introduced us to pyte, sentinels & vampires! Stella Bloom is one of my favorite narrators but I belive she is one of those you will either really love or really hate.... For me the author + narrator make this listen worth a credit!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

MiiSarah

Missouri

25/02/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great start to this series!"

Would you listen to Tall, Dark & Lonely again? Why?

ABSOLUTELY!! The narrator is the reason that I have purchased every audio book in this series. The story is good but the narrator Stella Bloom makes this book a thousand times better!!! A narrator can totally kill a book and this is an example where the narrator just makes this book AMAZING!!! Great Job

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nancy Devault

Woodburn, OR United States

7/02/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Awesome sauce!"

What did you love best about Tall, Dark & Lonely?

I read this story a few years back and really enjoyed it then but I have to say that it was truly a pleasure to listen to the narrated version. The story contained suspenseful, comedic, emotional, and of course romantic moments.

Have you listened to any of Stella Bloom’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first time I've listened to Stella Bloom's performance and must say I will definitely listen to her again. She did an outstanding job narrating this story! She brought across all the emotions perfectly, in my opinion, which really brought this story to life.

Any additional comments?

I can't wait to listened to the other books in this series!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

laura

Florence, AL, United States

16/10/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"The plot is pretty interesting, but . . ."

The actual writing is pretty bad. The female lead is too wishy-washy, the male lead is okay, but a bit of a wuss. The family dynamics are too far-fetched to even pretend it's halfway believable. It is all so cliche' that you will get a headache from all of the eye-rolling you will be doing, and let's not talk about the predictability issues. The point of view is poorly done, so that half the time you can't even tell whose point of view it is, but I soon discovered it didn't really matter. One of the low points, in my opinion, was when she takes her 16 year old charge with her to get a pregnancy test, tries to get him to go in and get it so she won't look like a slut and ruin her reputation as a teacher, then goes off in the woods with him to take the test so that he has to turn his back while she pees on the stick. There were many more low points, though, including the virginity debacle. I was very disappointed because it could have been good, but it failed miserably. I have enjoyed other books by this author, but this one falls way short.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Kindle Customer

Frisco, TX, United States

23/04/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"I loved Maddison and Efrim's story"

Maddison has been caring for her younger brother and sister for almost as long as they've been alive. Maddison has been saddled with one of those mothers who made a mistake at 16 and got pregnant and never accepted her responsibility to raise her children. She went from man to man and never grew up!Maddison moves into her grandmother's boarding house and shares a bathroom with Efrim, not realizing he is a Pyte, and over a 100+ years old. Kind of a vampire, tortured for decades by a regional magistrate, Efrim is finally rescued by his younger brother.Family is important to both heroes and Maddison, desperately needed a hero who loves her unconditionally. Good listen and a great story!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

rsbooks

27/01/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Okay"

I think there are two types of paranormal romance: paranormal novels with a romance twist (for example: Dragon Bound or Halfway to the Grave or Feral Sins) and then there are romance novels with a paranormal twist (for example: Conversion). This book is firmly that second kind, pretty much a romance book with some super basic vampire elements. It was very good for a romance book, but I like the world building a little more complicated with paranormal novels.

If you like that second type of book, I encourage you to buy this one, the characters were great and complex and the romance was nice and steamy.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

jack huck

9/01/16

Overall

"WEAK IN EVERY AREA!"

O my goodness! where do I start! the narrator has the same voice for male and female no matter who the character is, Madison is very intelligent in the beginning of the book she's taking care of her siblings and working as a teacher, yet when she's around Efron she becomes a clueless teenager that acts like a ditz! Efron the vampire, is so weak and girly he can't even have an orgasm during sex and wines! the book overall remind me in mature teenagers I like absolutely nothing about this book I couldn't even finish it! I will never read one of her books again!Kim H.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

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Helen

Sussex

14/06/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great narration ok story"

The story was good but I didn't have an overwhelming urge to keep listening but I think that's just because it's not my cup of tea. The supporting characters where more engaging than main couple so I may listen to book 2 which focuses on Chris' story.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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